The Groundtruth from a combat veteran, backed up by independent research and historical study. Information beneficial to the Troops. And a touch of objective politics, as it relates to the subjects at hand.

This site is unabashedly Pro-American and Pro-Military however none of the views expressed here are to be considered as endorsed, proposed, or supported by the Department of Defense or any other Agency, government, public, or private. http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/

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Shadow of the Sword

SSgt Workman is featured in the Hall of Heroes and a book review on this from Marine Till Death that read it as it was written: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/shadow-of-the-sword-by-jeremiah-workman-w-john-bruning.html

http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/ssgt-jeremiah-workman-navy-cross-usmc-iraq-marion-oh.html and links to prior articles.

658 posts from December 2010

Friday, December 31, 2010

ANP takes lead in key-leader engagement

ISAF: TOWP KALAY VILLAGE, Afghanistan -- Furthering their development, Afghan national police led a key-leader engagement operation, with coalition force support, in the Towp Kalay Village of the Sayed Abad District, Dec. 27.

Training ANP forces has been the focus for U.S. Army Maj. Roy Miller, team chief of 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division’s Task Force Warrior Security Forces Advisory Team. Miller, a native of Jeffersonville, Ky., advises the ANP about security matters and what they need to do to take the lead during operations such as the joint KLE just conducted.

VoA News: At least five alleged militants have been killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike in northwest Pakistan.

Pakistani intelligence officials say the militants were killed when their convoy was struck by at least two missiles near the town of Ghulam Khan in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border.

The area is a frequent target of U.S. missile strikes because senior Taliban and al-Qaida leaders are believed to be based there.

Last of 12 Somali Suspects in Alleged Dutch Terror Plot Freed

VOA News: Dutch prosecutors say the last of 12 Somalis arrested in the Netherlands last week on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack has been released. However, authorities say three of them, including the man freed Thursday, are still considered suspects.

No weapons or explosives were found in the December 24 raids in Rotterdam that netted the suspects, and prosecutors say no intended target has been identified. The Dutch intelligence service AIVD warned at the time it had information that several of the detained Somalis were possibly planning an imminent attack in the Netherlands.

Western Europe has been on heightened alert for possible attacks during the winter holiday season.

Well, the mine detection dogs and handlers from the 49th Mine Dog Detachment, 54th Engineer Battalion, Task Force Dolch, based at Bagram Air Field, know that better than most. These highly trained animals are used to help soldiers on the ground find some of the most elusive enemies in theater - landmines and improvised explosive devices.

VoA News: New York City is bracing for nearly one million people to crown into world famous Times Square for New Year's Eve celebrations, and officials say security forces will be ready.

Police are setting up security checkpoints, sealing entrances to underground pipes and tunnels, and installing scanners to detect radiation and other dangerous chemicals. A network of security cameras is also in place.

As we approach 2011, we can look back at 2010 and see it was a year of growth at War On Terror News, but a troubling year for the Nation and the World. We saw 800,000 hits in 2010 on the news site alone compared to 343,000 in 2009 and 135,000 in our first year.

The number of attempted terrorist acts in the United States and Europe increased in 2010. The War in Iraq got a new name: Operation New Dawn (not to be confused with individual campaigns in Fallujah and Afghanistan) replaced Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sixteen months after requested, the surge Troops approved in lower numbers than requested arrived in Afghanistan. Pirates have expanded their area of operations off the coast of Somalia, inspired by ransoms paid and a lack of willingness to pursue them in their lairs. Though a few cases show a willingness for individual captains to take the steps necessary, international resolve remains MIA.

BASRA, Iraq – The price of constant warfare is dear; paid for with the blood and lives not only of those engaged in it, but by the innocent civilians left in the wake of battle. Some children are left without any family. Mothers must find ways to care for their children.

There is, however, always a bright ray of hope shining on the best of mankind’s virtues. For the orphans and widows of Iraq’s southern province of Basra, that light comes from an orphanage and school called Dar Al-Zahra, established by Dr. Wathib Salman Al A’mood, an Iraqi native who immigrated to Great Britain after being exiled in the early ‘80’s.

The baker’s dozen of assigned airmen are involved in everything from operations to intelligence and information technology support. They are battlefield airmen serving in joint expeditionary taskings alongside joint and interagency colleagues.

“JET airmen are a vital part of this task force and bring so much to the table from explosive ordnance disposal skills to intelligence analysis,” said U.S. Army Col. José R. Atencio III, CJTF Troy commander. “I believe that JET airmen contribute a great deal in making our counter-IED fight so successful in saving lives. One fight, one team.”

One key responsibility of CJTF Troy is neutralizing the IED threat through collection and exploitation of IED evidence and related intelligence in four integrated laboratories.

In a sense, that’s what Company A, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment and 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 201st Afghan National Army Regiment soldiers were doing, Dec. 26, when they conducted a key leader engagement in the town of Ghaziabad.

“This was the first time we had been to this particular village; we really didn’t have any information on it,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Ott, an infantryman with Company A, 1st Bn., 133rd Inf. Regt., from Moline, Ill., who is also trained in civil affairs and performs that role on missions. “We went there and introduced ourselves and tried to identify the key leaders of the village. They always try to feel you out on the first visit.”

The mission was a joint patrol between ANA and their coalition counterparts, said U.S. Army 1st Lt. John Dundee, 1st platoon leader for Company A, 1st Bn., 133rd Inf. Regt., who led the mission from the coalition side. He said the mission is typical of a daily patrol the units conduct together. Dundee said that while the village of Ghaziabad has not presented any problems for Afghan or coalition forces thus far, Watangatu, a nearby village, has been a haven of enemy activity.

12 M1A1 Abrams tanks arrive in Iraq to be fielded

USF-I: BAGHDAD - Another batch of 12 M1A1 Abrams tanks purchased by the government of Iraq from the United States arrived on Dec. 22 at Umm Qasr. Once the tanks are deprocessed, this will total 63 tanks integrated into the Iraqi Army.

The tanks will be transitioned to the Iraqis at the Besmaya Combat Training Center, said Army Lt. Col. Tom Bentzel, the Iraq foreign military sales director with Project Manager Heavy Brigade Combat Team. Once fielded, he said, the Iraqi Army is expected to integrate the tanks into the 9th Iraqi Army Mechanized Division, located in central Iraq.

Agribusiness team studies impact of proposed demonstration farm

by Capt. Peter Shinn, CJTF101 KABUL, Afghanistan – The Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team is concerned about the potential impact a two-acre demonstration farm could have on the Afghan farmers currently using the land at the proposed demonstration farm site, near the Sar Kani District Center in Kunar province.

During an agribusiness team site visit in November, three farmers were planting alfalfa on the land earmarked for the demonstration farm. They said a total of eight farmers currently depended on the proposed demonstration farmland to grow forage to feed their livestock.

Liberia Prepares for Election Despite Challenges

Kate Thomas VoA News Dakar: Despite the challenges of bad roads in some parts of Liberia, the country is starting voter registration ahead of the October 2011 election.

On January 10, Liberians will begin to register to vote in their October 2011 presidential election.

Difficulties in registering voters living in neighboring Guinea and Ivory Coast contributed to election problems in both countries. Liberia is determined to ensure that its voter registration proceeds smoothly.

Colombian Kingpin 'The Knife' Dies After Raid

VOA News: The Colombian government says a drug trafficker and former paramilitary leader known as "The Knife" for his use of the weapon to mutilate victims, has been killed by security forces.

Authorities announced Wednesday that Pedro Guerrero had been killed after police launched a Christmas Day raid with air support against him in the southeastern part of the country.

President Juan Manuel Santos issued a statement saying, "the assassin of assassins," had fallen and that the government was after Guerrero for many years. President Santos also praised the operation that led to Guerrero's death and attributed more than 3,000 deaths to the former paramilitary.

Authorities say Guerrero later ran a drug gang called the Popular Revolutionary Anti-Terrorist Army of Colombia, or ERPAC. Guerrero was one of Colombia's most-wanted drug traffickers, with a $2.5 million reward offered for his capture. Guerrero had been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department, barring Americans from conducting any business or transactions with him.

The EU anti-piracy task force said Thursday the vessel was attacked late last week, about 222 kilometers off the northeastern tip of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

An EU statement said authorities have since had no contact with the vessel and its crew of 26.

Naval forces from the European Union, NATO and several countries are patrolling waters near Somalia to combat piracy. Despite the patrols, Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships in recent years, taking in tens of millions of dollars in ransom.

The European Union says the pirates are now holding 26 vessels and 613 hostages.

Somalia has been plagued by factional fighting and has lacked a strong central government for nearly 20 years.

2/6 reflects as they give final farewell to fallen brother by 1st Lt. Alex Lim RCT-1

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan -- When it was all said and done, the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment had a significant role in the progress made in Marjah the past seven months. From school and shop openings, to a concrete relationship with the local nationals; from a defining partnership with the local security forces to the neighborhood watch program, 2/6 was the backbone in making all this possible.

As they gathered here Tuesday, Dec. 28, to honor a fallen brother, Lance Cpl. Lucas Scott, 2/6 Weapons Company of Peebles, Ohio, Lt. Col. Kyle Ellison, the battalion commander for 2/6 opened his speech with the request made by Scott prior to his death.

VoA News: The twin daughters of an Iranian woman detained in the U.S. have appealed to President Barack Obama to release their mother as a New Year's gesture.

Iran's state-run Press TV aired the appeal from the teenage daughters of Shaharzad Mir Gholikhan Wednesday. In the video message, the twins said the New Year is a time when “families gather together and celebrate with joy,” and they want to celebrate with their mother. They urged viewers to send letters and emails to Mr. Obama.

VoA News: Iran's state news agency says authorities have arrested seven suspected members of al-Qaida near the border with Iraq. IRNA said it learned from what it called an “informed source” Wednesday that security forces detained the suspects in the town of Sardasht in West Azerbaijan province.

The report says Iranian officials identifed the alleged al-Qaida members about a month ago. There was no indication if the suspects were Iranian or foreigners. The report also said the detainees propagated Wahhabism, a strict form of Sunni Islam from Saudi Arabia, and sought to create discord between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.

In recent years, Iran has rarely arrested al-Qaida members. Some al-Qaida operatives are believed to have fled to the country after the U.S.-led invasion into Afghanistan toppled the Taliban in 2001.

"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.

Afghan, US forces lay stepping stone in path of progress

ISAF, KABUL, Afghanistan – At first, it looks like a clinic. Afghan children and men mill about the tents with over-the-counter medicine and pamphlets. Coalition forces help distribute supplies to locals after Afghan soldiers teach classes. But this outreach program in Sangin district, Helmand province is about more than just free medicine.

“It’s like the old adage of give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, and feed him for his lifetime,” said Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Hare, surgeon for 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. “We want to teach them to fish.”

By teaching the people about first aid and the use of various medicines, Afghan soldiers hope to improve local health.

Education development leads to enrollment gains in east

ISAF: KABUL, Afghanistan – Since October 2008, eastern Afghanistan has 54 new schools and nine refurbished schools for a total cost of more than $13 million.

During the same time frame, enrollment increased by 200,000 students, according to the Ministry of Education. Among the increase, there are 62,243 more females who were not allowed an education under Taliban rule.

Prior to their new school opening this year, students in the Muhammad Aghah district of Logar province once learned outside, sitting on the ground. Now, the students sit behind school desks beneath the roof of Pole Qandahari, a new school building.

Focus was on Suicide Bomber anti-christs in the War in Afghanistan, as the good guys rounded up several in Khandahar, Nimroz, and Nangahar yesterday. The Nangahar terrorist was targeted in an airstrike that killed many of his minions.

This will be joy to the hearts of many Muslim mothers whose sons' souls have been sacrificed to hell in the campaign to return tyranny to Afghanistan. ISAF details follow.

29 December 2010 VOA News A media rights group has marked the first anniversary of the abduction of two French journalists in Afghanistan by projecting their images onto Paris' famed Arc de Triomphe.

Reporters Without Borders released the images of Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier Wednesday on its French language website. The reporters for French 3 television and their three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped near Kabul, Afghanistan, last December and are being held by the Taliban.

In a statement on its website, Reporters Without Borders urges French President Nicolas Sarkozy

12.28.2010Story by Maj. Robert Hoover ZABUL, Afghanistan- The Afghan Peace and Reintegration Program is a program to encourage and assist low level and mid-level Taliban and insurgents who wish to leave the fight and return peacefully to their communities to do so with honor and dignity. Provincial Governor Ashraf Naseri, met with Maj. Gen. Phil Jones, the IJC Chief of Reintegration, on Monday, Dec. 27, to talk about Zabul’s efforts and commitment in the APRP.

The governor stated that we should focus on military operations and the peace process. The reintegration process is a hard area for the president Karazai, Afghanistan and Zabul’s team.

“On the military side, we have killed more than 34 Taliban high level fighters with no civilian casualties. We are strongly committed to targeting financial resources in our area in the way of counter narcotics. We have reduced poppy cultivation to less than eight percent without revocation in this province. We have already damaged the financial resources [of the Taliban] in Zabul. We have also captured more than 2,500 kg of drugs by our counter-narcotics team,” said Naseri.

Afghan forces can play a big part on how to defeat the Taliban in Zabul. Zabul is working on

Service members participating in the softball league at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, try on T-shirts and hats donated by the Baltimore Orioles, Dec. 26. There are a total of 22 teams in the softball league that began Oct. 1. The teams are comprised of Marines, sailors and members of the British forces. Photo by Cpl. Megan Sindelar

12.28.2010 Story by Cpl. Megan Sindelar CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Service members participating in a softball league at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, dedicated games played Dec. 26 to the Baltimore Orioles.

The people of Millersville, Md., Country Financial Services and the Baltimore Orioles donated

"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.

The engineers have already widened and leveled more than 3,600 feet (1,100 meters) of a well-traveled road and reinforced a bridge deemed too narrow for the large amount of traffic in the local community.

Haji Khudairam, the nearest town, is a rural community with few passable routes for large vehicle traffic. The few routes available to locals and military personnel are littered with improvised explosive devices planted by insurgents operating in the area.

Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) who have been partnered with the Australian Special Operations Task Group (SOTG), last month paraded as fully qualified Afghan National Police (ANP) officers for the first time.

Commander of Australian forces in the Middle East Major General John Cantwell said all ANSF personnel who were partnered with the SOTG now held the complete suite of qualifications required as officers of the ANP.

“The ANP organisation partnered with the SOTG is one of the few units of its kind in Afghanistan that can boast that all of its members are 100 per cent qualified as Afghan police. A qualified and trained local police force reinforces the rule of law, which is a key element for a credible and stable government,” Major General Cantwell said.

“This (operation) indicates that we, the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police, with support from American forces, can provide security to the people of Kirkuk … Arabs, Turkomen, Syrians or any other group … and they can feel secure as we prosper as Iraqis,” Jamal said.

12.28.2010 ISAF Joint Command KABUL, Afghanistan – Eight solar panels were donated to the National Directorate of Security, or NDS, headquarters by the Spanish Provincial Reconstruction Team in Qal’ah-ye Now district, Badghis province, yesterday.

This quick-impact project is worth $10,000 and will increase the operational capabilities of the Afghan National Security Forces in Qal’ah-ye Now by providing electrical power for the NDS headquarters.

The delivery ceremony was chaired by the provincial NDS chief, Mr Gobi Nabi, together with the Spanish Provincial Reconstruction Team commander, Col. Rosaleny Pardo de Santayana.

Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon told Israel Radio Wednesday that Iran's efforts have been delayed longer than Israeli intelligence previously believed. He added that Tehran could possibly produce nuclear weapons within the next three years.

Yaalon — a former military chief of staff — did not elaborate on Iran's technical difficulties or what the new assessment was based on.

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Ace Of Spades: Why Language MattersIn this article, Ace of Spades demonstrates how the writing style of "journalists" and other writers is purposely used to influence the electorate. He explains this far better than I have been able to do, but this is the foundation of why I could no longer be silent.